Fell Deeds
by Sunstar2
Summary: Gabriel's violation of new mutants runs deeper than anyone could imagine. Chapter 8 now up-finally!
1. Violation

Chapter 1 – Violation

An agonized scream pierced the stillness of the night.  Gabriel Ashlocke stood before the charred body of his latest victim, the scorch marks showing where the fatal energy blast had found it's mark.  He sighed in frustration, still no closer to finding the location of Sanctuary; the corpse yielding only the location of one known safehouse.  A shadow crept up next to Gabriel, looking up at him with amber eyes glowing.  He nodded and it pounced on the body, ripping out the throat with a savage snarl.  Warm blood poured onto the concrete.

_Damn you, Adam, _he thought.  First he had lost his control on Shalimar's mind, though he did not know how and now, after weeks of interrogating and murdering new mutants he had come to a dead end regarding the whereabouts of his main threat.  Time was running out.

Another shadow appeared next to Gabriel.  The first looked up, blood dripping from its mouth and growled a low warning in its throat.  Gabriel smiled cruelly.  At least one of his plans was working.  His latest experiment was proving an amazing success.  He watched proudly as his 'projects' fought each other for the flesh, snarling and snapping as they leapt at each other.

"Come," ordered Gabriel turning on his heel.  They stopped fighting and looked at him, both whining, unwilling to leave the kill.  "Come," repeated Gabriel, "you shall have more soon."  He strode out of the building and the shadows hurried after him, their stomachs bloated with human flesh, each carrying a haunch of meat in their bloodied jaws.

TBC…

A/N: Here's my latest offering.  I don't know exactly where it's going but I've got the next couple of chapters underway.  Any suggestions welcome! 


	2. Revelations

Chapter 2 - Revelations

"Noooooo!" screamed Emma deLauro, shooting out of her slumber, the fear and agony suffocating her. Shalimar burst in the door.

"Emma?"

"No," she whimpered, her eyes glazed, "no, please don't."

"Emma? What's wrong? What's happening?" Shalimar shook her gently trying to get a response. Emma drew a shuddering breath and collapsed, sobbing into Shalimar's arms.

"It's too late, too late, we're too late."

"Emma, Emma, come on, snap out of it!" pleaded Shalimar. Emma blinked and looked at her friend's worried face.

"I saw him," she whispered shakily, "I saw him killing someone."

"Who? Gabriel? Gabriel killing someone?" Shalimar asked. Emma nodded, her eyes still staring blankly. She started suddenly,

"I need to talk to Adam."

"Em, it's three in the morning. It was just a nightmare," Shalimar tried to reassure her.

"No!" she rounded angrily on Shalimar, "no, it was real. It happened. I know it happened." She stumbled out of her room and down the hall. Shalimar sighed and followed her yawning loudly.  She walked into the lab to see Emma trying to rouse Adam who as usual had fallen asleep at his work.

"No, I don't want fries with that," he mumbled sleepily as Emma shook him.

"Adam, Adam, wake up this is urgent!" she sounded genuinely upset. Adam stretched and sat up rubbing his eyes and looking around blearily.

"Emma? Shalimar? What's wrong? What are you doing down here? What time is it?"

"Three in the morning," grumbled Shalimar resentfully. "Emma had a nightmare."

"It wasn't a nightmare," protested Emma, "it was real. I saw it as though I was standing there."

"Saw what?" Adam asked confused.

"I saw Gabriel murdering someone. He just blasted him."

"Emma," Adam replied sitting her down, "Gabriel has murdered a lot of people, how is this one any different? How do you know it's for real?"

"I've never had such a vivid dream, I could feel a mass of emotions pressing in on me. It almost felt as though someone was sending me a mental image, in a way that's never happened before but," she paused, "it's what happened next you need to hear." Emma swallowed, "There was someone, or something with Gabriel. I didn't see it properly, it was too dark. At first I thought it was a dog or something but then I saw its eyes glowing."  She cast a glance at Shalimar who was leaning in the doorway, eyes half shut. "I don't know Adam but Gabriel said or did something and this thing pounced on the body and ripped out its throat.  It looked…well…it looked almost human, Adam."

TBC…

A/N: Don't worry all you Brennan/Shalimar shippers-I just wanted to get the story started first. There's no way I'd be writing this if there wasn't some B/S stuff in it!


	3. Developments

Chapter 3 - Developments 

STRAND HEADQUARTERS

Gabriel flicked idly through the reports from his scientists.  He wasn't concerned about the scientific side, he much preferred watching the results, it was so much more satisfying.  High pitched screams and snarls drew him down the corridor towards the gallery.  He leaned on the rail, looking down into a massive pit.  Twenty pairs of eyes gazed silently back up at him before continuing their squabble.

"Feed them," Gabriel ordered.  A small door in the side of the pit opened and two lame sheep hobbled out.  The squabble was immediately put aside as every creature focused on the prey before them.  Tongues ran over teeth as hands and feet stealthily picked their way towards the animals.  The sheep tried to run clumsily away but the pack wheeled round, instantly surrounding the terrified animals.  With a triumphant snarl the leader threw herself onto one of the animals and broke its neck.  The pack immediately closed in and began devouring its catch.

Gabriel watched with pleasure at the scene unfolding below him.

"They're doing extremely well, Dr Leon," Gabriel commented to the scientist observing the display.

"Fantastic, Mr Ashlocke.  This is the first time they have tackled a live animal. Hopefully we shall see them take down a healthy animal soon," he replied eagerly, continuing to watch the feast.

"Are there any obvious differences between the males and females?" asked Gabriel, "Is there a pack leader?"

"Well, actually sir, the female who broke the neck is the pack leader.  With the exception of her all the other pack members are equal and cooperate with each other as you have just seen."  The man was positively brimming with excitement.

"Obviously the canines are doing well, how about the felines?"

"I'm just about to go and check them, you can come and see for yourself."

"Excellent, Dr Leon."

SANCTUARY

"How could it be a human?  No human would rip out another's throat!" Jesse answered disgusted.

"Jesse, I don't know if it was definitely human.  I told you it was dark, I could hardly see it." Emma sighed, wishing she had kept the dream to herself.  Adam had woken the guys, both of whom were extremely displeased and she felt like she had retold her dream fifty times before they had understood.

"So it could have been a dog or something?" Brennan was still trying to process everything.

"Have you ever seen a dog with glowing eyes?" Emma asked sarcastically, " it didn't have a pointed nose, or a tail, but I saw it picking up bits of meat, that's what made me think it had hands.  And the way it moved, it was like an animal but not if you know what I mean. It seemed to have some similarities in movement to a human.  What do you think Shal?" she looked over at Shalimar who was biting her lip deep in thought.  "Shal?"

"What?" Shalimar jumped.

"What do you think it was?"  Brennan repeated looking at her concerned, she had gone very pale.

"Well if everything Emma saw is right there's only one thing it can be…" her voice dropped to a whisper, " a feral."   She ran out of the lab.

STRAND HEADQUARTERS

"The two feline ferals you took with you are still asleep, however the other eight are awake. Their progress has been astounding, they are catching and killing healthy prey with no difficulties at all."  Dr Leon led Gabriel along a corridor full of windows.  In each a feral was prowling their enclosure smelling and investigating.  One was licking the blood off its hands.  They reached the last two windows and Gabriel looked at the two sleeping ferals who had feasted on the body less than four hours before.

"I had no problems with these two tonight except a squabble over the meat," Gabriel informed Dr Leon, "how about the others?"

"Well, sir, you know what happened when we put all twelve of them together, the females ganged up and killed the two males.  However, now that there are only females there seems to be no problem, as long as they each have enough space.  I suspect that they would not accept the other males as they view you as their 'alpha male' if you like."

"I like that a lot doctor!" smirked Gabriel, "when will they all be ready to take out on trial?"

"The feline ferals are ready sir, whenever you want them, the canines will need a few more weeks to hone their hunting skills."

"Excellent!  See that everything is ready, we leave tomorrow night." ordered Gabriel.

"Of course, sir," nodded Dr Leon and hurried away.

"Let's see what you make of this, Adam," he murmured watching the sleeping ferals, a cruel smile on his face.

SANCTUARY

Brennan found Shalimar sitting in the garden as the dawn light filtered through the windows.  The morning sun glinted off her hair, which was covering her face.  She was flicking the water in the pond with a finger.

"Shal?" he sat down beside her, "Shal, what's wrong?  Why'd you run out like that?" Shalimar kept her eyes fixed on the water.

"It's nothing," she whispered.

"Come on, Shal," he turned her round to face him, "don't lie to me."  He fixed her gaze and for the first time she wavered and broke.

"It's nothing, honestly.  It just kinda freaked me out, Gabriel and the feral and all that stuff."

"How did you know it was a feral?"

"It was thing only thing that made sense…I suppose."  They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So you're sure there isn't anything else wrong?" Brennan asked again.

"I'm fine," she smiled at him, "absolutely fine!"

"Good," he replied giving her a hug, secretly loving the way she felt in his arms.  "I'm going for a jog, wanna come?"

"Nah, I need a coffee first!"

"Okay, see ya later," Brennan jumped to his feet and left.  Shalimar breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't ready to share her past with him yet.

TBC…

A/N: I hope this chapter satisfied all those wanting longer chapters!!!  Please review-I love reading all your comments whether good or bad.


	4. Questions and Answers

*~* denotes dreaming

Chapter 4 – Questions and Answers  

Later that afternoon:

SANCTUARY

*~*  She advanced on the terrified man who was gibbering incoherently as he backed away from this monster with the glowing eyes.  She licked her lips, savouring the taste of his fear.  She crouched, preparing for the death leap.  With a snarl she sprang at the man, only to see Brennan in his place, a look of pure terror on his face as she flew towards him, teeth bared.  *~*

Shalimar woke, screaming, on the sofa in the rec. room.  She clutched at the cushions with white hands, gasping for air as she shook uncontrollably.  She heard the pounding of footsteps and Brennan and Jesse burst through the door.

"Shalimar?!"  Her eyes were glowing feral.  They ran over to her, worried.  Brennan pulled her into his arms and held her until the tremors ceased.

"Shh, Shal.  It's okay, it's okay, we're here," he soothed.  She leaned into the warm comfort of his arms and her breathing became more regular as her eyes bled back to their human state.  "Hey, that's better," he stroked her hair gently, "what's up?"

"Just a nightmare," she replied, closing her eyes, trying to block out the memories, which were resurfacing.  "It just took me a while to get out of it, that's all."  She swung her legs round and sat up, brushing her hair out of her face.  Brennan wasn't convinced, her eyes held a haunted look as though she were being tortured. 

"Shal, are you sure you're okay?" he asked as she stared vacantly round the room. "Shal?"  With a shudder she focused back on Brennan.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she blinked a few times as though trying to clear her vision, " just fine."  She got up and wandered out of the room Brennan and Jesse just stared after her.

"What's up with her?" Jesse asked confused.

"I don't know," Brennan answered thoughtfully, "she's been like this ever since Emma's dream last night."  Jesse shrugged his shoulders and left, leaving Brennan sitting on the sofa deep in thought.  Shalimar was hiding something from him, from all of them and it had something to do with this feral of Gabriel's. He decided to go and speak to Adam.

*  *  *  

"Adam, I need to know what's going on, is what Emma saw for real, I need to know," Shalimar pleaded with Adam in the lab.

"Shalimar, I don't know and at the moment there's no way of finding out." Adam tried to pacify her.  Brennan pressed himself against the wall outside the lab listening intently through the open door.

"Adam, you don't understand, the memories are all coming back.  I just dreamt about one of them there except the guy turned into Brennan and I was going to kill him, Adam.  I'm scared it's going to happen again and I'll start hurting people I love." Tears were welling in her eyes but she fought them back.

"Shalimar, I don't think it will happen to you again, remember we sorted out that problem a long time ago.  This is just a coincidence and it's triggered the memories. We'll speak to Emma and see if there's anything she can do to help you…"

"No!" Shalimar burst out, "no, I don't want them to know about this!"

"Shalimar, maybe its better if they know, so that they can understand."

"I'm not ready to tell them yet, Adam, this is my past and I'm not ready to share it." 

"Okay but think about telling them, it'll be better if you do."  Brennan heard footsteps and quickly hid himself not wanting to be found eavesdropping.  Shalimar left he lab and headed for her room.  Brennan was about to go and speak to Adam but remembering Shalimar's words he decided not to.  He wandered aimlessly around Sanctuary for a while; Emma and Jesse were both out.  After sitting kicking water for ten minutes he decided to go and talk to Shalimar, he had to know what was going on.

"Shal," he knocked gently on her door, "Shal, it's me, can I come in?"  The door slid open.

"Yeah, what's up?"  Shalimar flopped back onto her bed.

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk."  Brennan sat on the edge of the bed.

"'Bout what?"

"Actually I have a confession to make," Brennan ducked his head, "I overheard you and Adam in the lab just there."  Shalimar turned pale.

"How much did you hear?"

"Quite a lot, enough to make me curious and worried."  Shalimar bit her lip.

"Worried about what?"

"About you, of course.   Something to do with this Ashlocke stuff has hit you bad and I hate seeing you like this," Brennan replied looking up at her, "so are you going to tell me what is going on or do I have to go and torture Adam?" Brennan let some electricity crackle in his hand grinning at her.

"Alright," she replied smiling weakly back, "I suppose Adam's right, it's better if you do know."   She sat up and took a deep breath, "Before I joined Mutant X or rather before Adam rescued me I was living on the streets.  It wasn't my choice, I had lost control of my feral side altogether.  I had never been able to control it properly but once I hit eighteen I just totally lost control.  My parents threw me out; it was hard enough living with a freak but an out of control freak was just not an option.  I spent four years fending for myself, that whole time I was sort of stuck in feral.  I hardly remembered who or what I was, I just wanted to hunt and sleep.  And I did.  I moved around from place to place when people started to notice the number of people dying."

"Dying?"

"I told you I wanted to hunt, well my prey was…it was human."  she whispered. Brennan's jaw dropped and his eyes flicked around the room.  "I knew I shouldn't have told you," tears sprang into her eyes, "I knew this would happen."  Brennan shut his mouth and mentally kicked himself for showing his reaction.  He slid up next to her and put a comforting arm round her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Shal, you just caught me a bit off guard.  I just can't ever imagine you being like that."

"That's the thing, I couldn't ever imagine being like that but it just happened and I couldn't stop it.  I hunted and killed my own species I was a cannibal!"  The tears overflowed and she sobbed into Brennan's arms.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it wasn't your fault," he soothed rubbing her back gently.

"Emma's dream it's brought all the memories back, memories I've tried to push away, they're flooding back.  I'm scared Brennan, scared that it'll happen again and I'll hurt people."

"Shal, we don't know if Emma's dream was real or not.  We don't know if it was definitely a feral that Emma saw."

"It was it's the only thing it could have been."

"Okay so say it was a feral, we don't know how it got that way.  It might not be natural, maybe Gabriel's doing experiments and anyway I heard Adam say that he'd sorted what was wrong and he didn't reckon you'd ever lose control of your feral side like that again."

"Yeah, so he reckons," she replied bitterly, "he doesn't know Brennan, none of us know.  None of us has any idea what will happens to us.  Look what's happened already, look at the hell we've been through because we're mutants, look how many of us have died because of what we are!" she jumped up and paced like a caged tiger. "Adam saved me once but there's no guarantee he can do it again." Brennan stood up and held her still tilting her head to look into her chocolate brown eyes.  They were full of fear and desperation.

"Shalimar, listen to me.  You are still you, nothing has changed.  If it does Adam will help you, he's never let any of us down yet.  We still know nothing about Emma's dream so until we do, please, try not to worry.  You aren't alone like you were then. You have friends, family, who care deeply about you and I will never let anything happen to you."  She looked curiously at him,

"I?"  Brennan brushed slightly,

"Yes, I.  I care so much about what happens to you Shal.  I can't tell you how much it hurts me to see you like this, so scared and worried."

"Brennan, what are you trying to say?"

"I think you know," he replied.  He slid his hand against her smooth cheek and drew her face towards his watching as her eyes closed slowly.  He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against hers.  Her arms slid round his waist pulling him closer as her tongue entered his mouth.

"Brennan!  Shalimar!  I need you in the lab now!" Adam's voice ran out in the room. They broke apart looking confused and a bit dazed.  Without a word, the both walked down to the lab.  Adam looked up from the computer as they entered,

"I sent Jesse and Emma out to check some safe houses.  They were meant to be back half an hour ago but I can't get in contact with them, their com-links are off-line.  I need you to go and pick them up.  Hang on, Emma's com-link's back on.  Emma?  Emma, can you hear me?"

"Hello, Adam," Shalimar froze in fear as Gabriel voice echoed through the lab, "I believe I have some of your property."

TBC…

A/N:  Hope you enjoyed this.  Sorry it took so long to update-I've had lots of assessments and stuff-grrrr!!!!  Maybe I should just dump the academic side and become a writer-what do you think?!  I'll start on the next chapter tonight and try to have it up by the weekend-hopefully.  


	5. Horror and Disgust

A/N:  I know, I know, I know.  I'm so sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up although it's nice to see people wanting more and thank you for being pleasant about it and not threatening me!  I've now finished all my stupid Prelim exams so (hopefully) I'll be able to update more often now…hang on…DAMN IT…still got one to do…forgot about that one… ::scribbles exam date in diary:: …anyway AFTER I fail my last exam I should be updating more regularly (since my academic prospects will be out the window) and if I don't you have my full permission to get angry and make with the threats (I'm joking-please be nice!)

By the way I have no idea how high ferals can jump!

Chapter 5 – Horror and Disgust 

SANCTUARY

"Shalimar, wait!" Adam yelled in vain for she was already out of earshot and sprinting towards the hanger.  "Brennan, get her back, quickly!"  Brennan took off after Shalimar leaving Adam slumped at his desk in despair.  First it had been Shalimar, now Emma and Jesse, he felt like he was failing them all.  "Damnit!" he cursed in frustration, sweeping racks of test tubes onto the floor with an ear splitting crash.

"Mm…nice mess," Brennan remarked as he half carried, half dragged a kicking Shalimar into the lab.

"Brennan, let me go we have to help them," she struggled violently twisting and writhing forcing Brennan to pin her down on the lab chair before she seriously injured him.

"Shalimar, we are going to get them don't worry.  What we're not going to do is let you run off blindly in a fit of anger and get caught yourself do you hear me?" Adam tried to remain calm Shalimar stopped struggling and looked up at him resentfully, 

"Well, let's get a move on then," she suggested sarcastically.

"We will just as soon as we have some form of a plan," he replied sitting down at the computer and calling up the CCTV footage for the safehouse.  They watched as Emma and Jesse were ambushed by over twenty members of the Strand before the screen went blank.

"Well, they found the cameras then," Brennan remarked.

SAFEHOUSE FOUR

"Replace everything as it was, I want no trace of our presence left here," Gabriel instructed as the links started to work.  He turned to the two ferals holding the unconscious forms of Jesse and Emma, "let's go, I want everything in place before Adam finds us."  They left the safehouse to be greeted by a wild din of yowling and screaming coming from the interior of two vans outside.  "Silence!" roared Gabriel and the racket ceased instantly.  Emma and Jesse were thrown roughly into the back of a car which sped away followed by the vans.   

FERAL TEST CENTRE

Emma woke to find her arms above her head and her feet dangling.  Looking down she saw the floor, thirty feet below her.  She looked up at her wrists.  They were shackled by long chains hanging from a gantry.  She twisted, trying to loosen the cuffs but only succeeded in bruising her already tender wrists.  It was then that she noticed Jesse hanging ten feet away.  He was still unconscious, his face bloodied and bruised and Emma suddenly remembered what had happened.  Gabriel had ambushed them at the safehouse and knocked her out with a psi-blast before she could hit him.  He must have given Jesse one hell off a beating.

"Jesse!" she hissed urgently.  "Jesse, wake up."  He twitched slightly.  "Jesse, please, you have to wake up, come on!"  She considered hitting him with a psi-blast but changed her mind as he stirred and blinked.

"Aaah, hell!" he groaned softly, feeling pain explode through his body.

"Jesse, are you okay?" Emma asked fearfully.  He looked over at her,

"Well, I feel like shit and probably look like it too but apart from…" he trailed off as he realised they were hanging in mid air, "how the hell?"

"Gabriel," she answered, "remember, he ambushed us at the safehouse."

"Bastard!" Jesse swore as he remembered the events, especially the knee in his abdomen as he took a breath.

"Jesse, we need to get out of here," Emma interrupted his thoughts, "I don't know where Gabriel is."

"Well, I could phase but you'd be stuck up here," he explained.

"You have to, Jesse, phase out and go for help, our com-links are gone, you'll have to phone Sanctuary, go!" she urged.

"Emma, I'm not leaving you here!"

"Jesse, you have to, it's the only way to get help."

"NO!"

"Please, Jesse," she pleaded, "I'll be okay.  It's not like I'm in harm's way up here."

"But what if Gabriel comes back?"

"All the more reason for you to go now!"

"Okay," Jesse finally agreed, "but I'll be back for you and you can hold me to that."

"I will, now GO!"  Jesse took a deep breath and began to phase, then screamed in agony as a searing pain shot through his body.

"Jesse!" Emma yelled frantically.

"Governor," Jesse panted, "the bastard's put governors on us."

"Damn!" Emma yelled in frustration.

"Now, now, Emma," Gabriel's sardonic sneer floated up from the floor, "there's no point in getting agitated, it won't do either of you any good."

"What do you want, Gabriel?" snarled Jesse, glaring down at him.

"Mr Kilmarten, you are in no position to make demands but since you are so obviously desperate to know…I am carrying out some experiments and you are my subjects.  Of course I have no doubt that Adam, Brennan and my dear Shalimar will show up soon, coming to your rescue as always but that is not a problem, in fact, I have a little surprise for Adam!"  He walked over to a staircase leading to a platform at the same height as Emma and Jesse.  "CLEAR THE FLOOR." He ordered.  The remaining staff hurried away to various observation platforms and Emma shot a scared glance at Jesse.

"What do you think is going to happen?" she whispered.

"I dunno," Jesse replied glancing nervously around.

"OPEN THE GATES," Gabriel shouted and with a screech, two large metal doors opened in the side of the warehouse.  In that instant, Emma's nightmare became a reality as ten human figures with glowing, yellow, feral eyes, raced, on all fours, into the warehouse.

"Oh my God!" she stared appalled at the scene below her.  The ferals, feline like Shalimar, were sitting upon their haunches, looking up at their prey and growling aggressively.   One leapt upwards, missing Jesse's dangling feet by five or so feet.

"Shit," Jesse yelped, "that was close."

"Jesse, my nightmare, it was all true, Shalimar was right, it was a feral," Emma's voice shook in horror.

"What do you think of my creations?" Gabriel said amused as he watched the look of shock on their faces.

"You are sick, Ashlocke," Jesse spat in disgust.  Gabriel simply smiled at him,

"What's the matter, Jesse?  Do they remind you of your little feral friend?"  Jesse struggled violently in his restraints.

"Jesse, stop," Emma whispered, "you'll only make it worse."  She was forcing herself to stay calm, trying desperately to master the fear coursing through her veins and praying that Adam, Shalimar and Brennan would know something was wrong.

The ferals were milling restlessly around the floor, their eyes fixed on the two forms dangling enticingly, just out of their reach.

OUTSIDE THE SAFEHOUSE

A figure dropped silently from mid air, landing on the pavement in a crouch.  After checking her surroundings carefully she slipped stealthily down the alley, sliding through an old door about half way along.

"The place is clean, they obviously know how to tidy up after themselves, but I can smell them," Shalimar shuddered as she picked up Gabriel's scent, "there's no other trace of them though, I'm on my way back up." 

"Okay, Shalimar," Adam replied.  Shalimar turned around and made her way back up to the entrance.  As she emerged in the alley she caught a strange scent on the wind.  It was a feral scent, several in fact, but there was something not quite right about them, they didn't seem to have the normal human smell and she smelt something else…she smelt blood.

"Adam, something strange has been here, there's been other ferals here and I can smell blood."

"Emma and Jesse's?"

"No, it's not theirs, it's animal blood."

"Get back on board, we'll see what the scans pick up," Adam replied, concerned.  Shalimar looked upwards and leapt into the opening above her, the door of the cloaked Double Helix.

"That was really strange, the ferals didn't smell like normal ferals do," Shalimar said as she sat down next to Brennan.

"What do you mean?" Brennan asked, slightly confused.

"Well, I know everyone has a different scent but I can usually tell ferals from any other mutants by their scent."  Brennan looked amazed.

"It's to do with recognising other members of their pack, ferals are able to smell other ferals and respond to them," Adam added.

"Those ones smelt like ferals but there was something else, something different which I've never smelt from a feral before," continued Shalimar, "I can't even explain what it was because I don't know."

"Well, it's not giving us any answers whatever it was.  Brennan, keep scanning for Emma and Jesse's com signals, I don't know if Gabriel is aware of the com-links or how they work."  Brennan spun round in his seat as Adam lifted the Helix into the air.  Shalimar sat watching the city speed past and chewed on her lips, trying to make sense of what she had smelt.  She had lied to Adam, she had come across the scent before but it terrified her to think that history was repeating itself.

FERAL TEST CENTRE

The ferals were growing bored with this new game, their prey was out their reach and they fell to squabbling amongst themselves, snapping irritably at their rivals.  Gabriel, sitting watching, was pleased to see their growing aggression, he wanted quite a show for Adam when he arrived.

"Bring the captives over," he ordered lazily.  The gantry to which Emma and Jesse were attached moved across the warehouse.  Emma was the first to reach Gabriel and she flinched as he reached out and caressed her face.  "Now, now, Emma my dear, don't recoil, as I recall Shalimar enjoyed this."  

"Leave her alone, Gabriel," Emma snarled.

"Or what?"  Gabriel drew out a long sharp knife and Emma's eyes widened in fear.

"Gabriel, don't you dare," Jesse yelled as he hung helplessly watching.

"Oh but I must, you see how else would Adam find us?"  He drew the knife slowly down Emma's arm, smiling as she bit her lip, wincing in pain.  He then pulled out a silver ring and rubbed it into the wound.  "There, now Adam will be able to come and see for himself," and he placed the activated com-link down beside him.  Motioning to the workers he sat back down as Emma and Jesse were again dragged into the centre above the snarling ferals.  Emma's arm was bleeding freely and she watched with horror as the blood dropped down to the pack beneath her.  The result was instantaneous, the whole pack went on the attack, leaping up, trying to reach the tempting prey even harder now that they had tasted the first blood.  

"Oh God," she groaned, trying valiantly to hold onto consciousness as she lost more blood.

"Emma, stay with me," pleaded Jesse, "come on girl, hold in there."  She moaned softly as her head dropped and she slipped into oblivion.  Jesse watched her fearfully, she was still bleeding, he only hoped Adam would pick up their com signals before it was too late.

DOUBLE HELIX

"Adam! I've got Emma's signal," Brennan shouted from the back of the Helix.  

"Right, I've got the coordinates, let's get over there."  Adam turned the Helix a sharp left and they were soon hovering over a large warehouse situated in an industrial complex.  "Brennan, I want you…" he trailed off as he realised Shalimar had left the Helix and was on the roof of the building.  "Shalimar, what the hell are you doing?" he shouted angrily.  Shalimar didn't reply, she had to see for herself if what she thought was true.  "Brennan, go after her, I'm going to land the Helix, wait for me, do not go in there!"  Brennan left the Helix without a word and silently followed Shalimar across the roof.

"Shal, what are you doing?" he whispered softly as he put his hand on her shoulder, "you don't know what's in there."

"I have to find out, Brennan, I have to know what's going on."

"Well wait for Adam and we'll all go in."

"I can't," and with that she slipped through the roof door.  Brennan cursed silently and followed her through. When Adam ran up less than a minute later he fund no sign of Shalimar or Brennan but his eye caught the open door and he slipped inside leaving it ajar in case they needed a quick escape.  The sight that met him as he entered the warehouse would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Brennan and Shalimar were both standing in silent shock, staring appalled at the scene below them.  Emma, bloodied and unconscious, was next to an only slightly better off Jesse, both suspended by metal cuffs above a pack of what he took to be dogs from their harsh growls but as he looked at them properly he saw, sickeningly, that they were feral humans.  Shalimar began to shake and Brennan put a strong arm around her.   

TBC…


	6. Family

A/N:  Hi everybody.  Massive apologies to all those waiting for the next chapter.  I've had major computer problems recently resulting in no internet access for two months and no word processing package for a further month hence the lack of updates.  I'd like to finish this story this month but we'll see if I manage that.

bri:  Here's the next chapter you've been so desperately waiting for.

Chapter 6 – Family

Gabriel was immediately aware of Shalimar's presence, a trace of the psionic link that had once connected them still lingered.  He turned to the links observing the spectacle, raising his voice above the rabble of the pack below.  "The rest of Mutant X has arrived," he informed them, "let's make this a fantastic show."  The links hurried away obediently and began tossing chunks off meat into the pack, goading them into a frenzy.  Gabriel then turned his attention to Jesse who was still conscious and watching Emma fearfully.  "Don't worry, Jesse, this will all be over soon," he smirked, "and as an extra bonus for you the cavalry has arrived." 

Up in the rafters of the warehouse, Shalimar watched the proceedings with horror but as she watched she felt her resolve strengthen.  She knew what she had to do.  Moving out of Brennan's hold, she walked out along the beams to the centre, directly above the pack.  She was dimly aware of Brennan shouting her name and then he and Adam disappearing the way they had entered, but her attention was now focused on those below.  Taking a steadying breath, she stepped off the beam and fell to the floor below.  The drop seemed to last a lifetime.  She saw faces, on walkways lining the walls, call out in shock as she passed.  She heard Jesse's strangled yell as she flashed passed him and Emma.  And she saw the yellow eyes of the ferals below her turn up towards her falling figure, watching…

Gabriel watched closely as Shalimar landed in a graceful crouch on the outside of his pack.  He had expected Mutant X but he hadn't expected this.  He thought Shalimar would have had more sense; she was after all a feral herself, even if she was somewhat different from his, but she had dived recklessly into the middle of the frenzy and he didn't want her harmed.  She was, in his opinion, a most interesting and useful creature.

The sudden appearance of a human in their pit distracted the feral pack from their original task.  They could smell her, they knew she was like them but somehow not.  The pack encircled her slowly, curious eyes focused on her.

Shalimar had not moved out of the crouch.  Her eyes still glowed yellow and she regarded the other ferals, the wild ferals, with something akin to pain.  All her experience had not prepared her for what she now saw.  She had been like this, yes, but deep inside, there had been some vestige of humanity which had refused to flee when she gave herself over to the animal.  The eyes she looked into now had nothing left.  No sense of humanity, no sense of control, and no sense of what they had been.  They were the eyes of beasts.  

The doors to the pit crashed open and Brennan raced in, charging coils on his finger tips.  The two ferals closest to him flew backwards as bolts of electricity hit them in the chest.  He aimed the next shot at the walkways on the walls, sending a current surging through the railings and flooring over a dozen of Gabriel's men.  Gabriel himself screamed in rage, shouting for the doors to be shut but it was too late.  The feral pack had seen their chance to escape, driven mad by the noise and confusion they bolted for the doors.  Shalimar uttered a primal scream as the pack disappeared from around her, she felt as if she were loosing them.  The scream turned to anguish as the pack bore down upon Brennan, his attention still fixed on Gabriel.  She saw him turn and the terror on his face, the same image that had haunted her dreams, as the pack ran him down.  She heard the thump as he hit the floor and was swallowed by the mass of charging bodies.  Pushing the onslaught of memories away she raced toward him in the pack's wake watching with relief as the ferals took their freedom and left Brennan on the floor.  She dropped to her knees beside him as he struggled to sit up.

"I'm alright," he muttered wryly, "but I don't want to do that again in a hurry!"  Shalimar helped him to his feet and he glanced around the warehouse.  "Gabriel's away then?"  Shalimar nodded.

"Shalimar!  Brennan!  I need you up here now!"  Adam had reached the rigging Jesse and Emma were suspended from and was undoing the cuffs from around Emma's wrists.  "Get her to the Helix, Shalimar, and get her cleaned up."  Shalimar lifted Emma's prone form and gently carried her up to the craft.  "Jesse?  Can you walk?"  Jesse nodded as Adam released the restraints.  "Right then, let's get out of here.  We need to get Emma back to Sanctuary and I need to talk to Shalimar."

TBC…


	7. Recovery

A/N:  Oh well…hopes of getting this story finished before the end of the month are well and truly up a certain creek.  However I will soon be getting my very own piece of portable PC goodness so no more competing for screen time and **_hopefully_** that will mean more updates…hopefully!  I'm quite shocked by the fact that I haven't had a horrible review yet or one that is really critical of my writing ability because I myself don't think much or my writing ability so if anyone is sitting there thinking 'this is total rubbish' then please, please tell me.  It won't get better if you don't tell me if you think it is bad.  You have been warned!

Chapter 7 –  Recovery 

DOUBLE HELIX

Shalimar placed Emma on the med bed at the back of the Helix and began raking through the medical supplies for something to clean her arm up.  As she ripped open several sterile wipes, Adam and Brennan helped Jesse onboard and settled him in the co-pilots chair.  Brennan took the controls of the jet as Adam rushed to help Emma.

"Adam, it's really deep," Shalimar bit her lip anxiously, "and it's started bleeding again with the cleaning."  Emma's arm was bleeding freely over her and Shalimar's clothing as Shalimar tried to clean the wound.

"Here, Shalimar, give me the wipes and hold her arm up for me please.  That should slow the bleeding a little till we get her cleaned up."  Shalimar supported Emma's arm and with the other hand, brushed her hair gently from her closed eyes.

"Hey, honey," she whispered, "you're gonna be just fine, okay?"

"This is going to need stitches but…"  The jet lurched violently and dropped several feet.

"Sorry!"  Brennan yelled from the front.

  "…that is exactly why I am not going to do it here," Adam finished as he regained his balance.  "I'll put a sterile pad over it and bandage it up tightly which should stop the bleeding for long enough until we get back to Sanctuary.  Shalimar, I'm afraid you'll need to keep her arm up until then and keep pressure on the wound until the blood flow stops.  See if you can try and _gently_ wake her up as well.  I want to make sure she is alright apart from the blood loss."  Shalimar sat up on the bed next to Emma and whispered softly to her,

"I'm sorry, baby.  This is my fault.  I should have told you, then we might have been ready."

"It's okay, Shal," Emma whispered back faintly, startling Shalimar so much she nearly fell off the bed.

"Adam," Shalimar called, "she's awake."  Adam came up from the front of the jet with a smile on his face and Shalimar felt another pang of remorse when she saw Jesse's neatly bandaged wrists where the cuffs had cut him.  'They're suffering because of me' she thought sadly.  She turned her attention back to Emma who was slowly becoming more conscious.

"Emma do you know who you are and where you are?" Adam asked her.

"I'm one of Santa's little helpers flying to Lapland," she replied.  Brennan let out a snort of laughter from the front of the jet.

"Oh dear," Adam shook his head, "it looks like the blood loss has caused Emma to revert to her childhood fantasies.  Next she'll be delivering presents to us all in the middle of the night."

"I wouldn't mind that, Emma.  A little night time surprise from you would be pretty good," Jesse piped up from the front of the craft.  Emma and Shalimar exchanged a scheming grin.

"You are really going to regret saying that," Emma said hoarsely, "as soon as I'm better that is," she added quietly and Adam saw her glance painfully at her bandaged arm.

"Are you in pain?"

"No, I was just wondering how bad it is.  I don't remember much apart from the fact that it hurt like hell."

"You've got a deep wound there, Emma but it should heal up okay with some stitches.  You might be left with a faint scar but I'll try my best to get it as tidy as possible."  Emma nodded, 

"I am going to rip that bastard limb from limb!" she snarled.

"That makes two of us," Shalimar growled.

"Oh, God!  I forgot to tell you!  Your dream, Shalimar, it was true.  Gabriel has done something to a whole group of ferals.  We saw them when he had me and Jesse!"

"We know, Emma.  We got there in time to see them," Shalimar bit her lip, the memory of those inhuman eyes haunting her.

"Gabriel set it all up, Emma.  He was never going to kill you two, he just used you as bait to make sure we all saw what he is doing.  And we did.  The only think I don't think he planned on was the feral pack escaping," Adam sighed.  "We're going to have to hunt them down.  We can't risk them being allowed to roam the streets or for Gabriel to recapture them.  If we can get to them first then I might be able to help them."

"But, Adam, Gabriel will have a hell of a head start on us.  I mean he must have put tracers in them or something.  Who in their right mind would create something like that and not have a way of finding them?"  Brennan questioned as he guided the Helix along the tunnel to the hanger.

"I'm sure he will have some way of finding them but I have an idea too," Adam replied as the Helix touched down gently.  "Emma, let's get you to the lab and tidy up your arm.  Will you guys shut down the Helix please and then, Shalimar, I need to talk to you in the lab in about fifteen minutes, okay?"  They all nodded and Shalimar, Jesse and Brennan began to shut down the jet as Adam left with Emma.

"What does he want to talk to you about, Shal?" Jesse looked puzzled.  Shalimar turned on her heel abruptly and ran off the Helix.  "What is wrong with her?!" Jesse stood dumbfounded, watching Shalimar's rapidly disappearing back.

"No idea," Brennan lied.  He finished off in the Helix with Jesse then walked off without a word in the same direction as Shalimar leaving Jesse even more confused.

Brennan heard Shalimar before he saw her as he rounded the corner towards the lab.

"NO!  Adam, you can't make me do this!"  The lab door opened and Shalimar flew out, running full tilt into Brennan.  He grabbed her as her momentum slammed them both into the wall.  She clutched handfuls of his shirt in her fists and buried her face in his chest, anguished sobs ripping from her throat.  "Please, no" she whimpered.  Brennan looked up to see Adam standing at the lab door, his face filled with concern. 'I'll talk to her' he mouthed over Shalimar's head and Adam nodded sadly and turned back into the lab.  Brennan gently picked Shalimar up and carried her over to the couches.  Sitting down with her still held close, he brushed her hair away from her face, tilting her chin so he could look her in the eyes.

"What does he want you to do, Shal?" he whispered.  She brushed the tears away from her eyes and looked up at him.

"He wants me to go after the ferals.  He wants me to find them and bring them back here.  He says it's because I'm feral and I know how they'll react."  She turned her head away, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill over again.  "I can't do it, Brennan.  I can't face that again."  

TBC…


	8. Persuasion

A/N:  Hurray!  I now have my own little bit of PC goodness.  I hit writer's block again with this one but I've managed to overcome it, I think!  I've tried to make this chapter as long as I could because I know my last couple of updates have been a bit short.  Enjoy!

Chapter 8 – Persuasion

Later that evening

_Talk about weird, __we've had several reports of attacks on members of the public, by what appears to be a pack of wild animals.  The attacks all happened late this afternoon, near the industrial estate on the south side of the city.   Oddly, no one has been able to identify what these animals are however some shaken victims are convinced they were attacked by something resembling humans.  A year ago I would have said that was impossible but now maybe not so.  Whatever is going on, the police forces have advised that members of the public use extreme caution and should avoid being outdoors alone until the threat has been dealt with.  This is Proxy Blue, signing off._

"Save report," Adam ordered the computer.  He tapped his fingers slowly against the desk.  The ferals needed to be recaptured and he knew that he would need Shalimar's assistance to do so, but to use the Proxy Blue reports to convince her would almost be blackmail and he didn't want to have to resort to that.  He was hoping that Brennan would be able to talk her round, or at least calm her down enough to listen to him rationally.  He walked over to the door but before leaving the lab he paused.  "Erase Proxy Blue reports," he said quietly.  He would let Shalimar make up her own mind.

Brennan sat with Shalimar on the couch, her anguished sobbing had subsided but she still clung to him like a small child.  

"You must think I'm unstable.  This is the second time today I've had a sob session on you," she joked hoarsely.

"Hey, it's okay," Brennan replied with a smile, you've been through a lot today and you're tired, no one has had much sleep.  It's enough to crack anyone up."

"So you _do think I'm unstable then?" she demanded with a small grin._

"Totally, which is why I love you so much," he whispered, brushing her hair out of her eyes.  He caressed her cheek lightly and she leaned into his palm, her eyes closing at his touch.  Brennan looked at the contentment on her face and sighed inwardly, dreading the effect his next words would have on her.  Taking a breath he proceeded hesitantly with what he knew would have to be said.  "Shalimar, we need you to do this, we need you to find those ferals."  Her eyes shot open and once again, he saw the fear in them as she practically leapt from his lap, bristling.

"I thought you would understand!" she yelled, her eyes flashing, "I thought you were on my side.  I can't do this, Brennan!"

"I am on your side, Shal, but we are a team and we can't have sides.  Believe me, if there was any way I could protect you from going through this again I would, I would do anything for you."

"Well you sure as hell have a funny way of showing it!" Shalimar hissed venomously as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.  She didn't see the hurt in Brennan's eyes as he watched her retreating form sadly.  He had meant it, with all his heart.  He hated seeing her in so much pain but he knew that if he couldn't convince her to help, she and many others would soon suffer much worse.

*  *  *

Out of doors was the one place she truly felt at home outside the comfort of his arms.  Part of her regretted her harsh words of an hour ago and part of her knew that she would have to help recapture the ferals, she couldn't walk away from it.  But there was still another larger part of her that was terrified of coming into contact with them; with what she had been, again.  Seeing them in that warehouse had been harder for her than she had let on.  

There had been a connection, deep down, between her and the pack.  She told herself she wasn't like them, not any more, but it scared her that she still felt a connection to them.  It scared her that there was a possibility she was more like them than she thought.  It scared her that there was still something of that buried deep inside her and she knew she couldn't allow it to escape.  

She sat on the branch of the tree watching as the moon rose gracefully and the stars scattered a faint light across the midnight canopy.  Outside.  Ferals belonged in nature, not cooped up, suffocated.  'We are creatures of the earth,' she thought and then shuddered as she realised who 'we' included.

"Well you are certainly a lot easier to find when you're angry, I just wish you didn't run so damn fast!"  Brennan's slightly amused voice drifted up from the forest floor.  Shalimar, startled, lost her balance and dropped to the ground, with only slightly less grace than usual.  

"Meaning what?" she demanded brushing herself down before turning her back on him, still slightly upset with him.

"You left you're com link activated," he replied, holding up a small portable tracker.  Shalimar glared at Adam's latest little wonder and walked off without a word.  

"Shal?!"  Shalimar, you can't keep running from this!"  He ran after her and placed a hand on her arm trying to stop her but she ripped her arm from his grasp and continued walking so he stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop.  She turned her head away from him,

"Let me go, Brennan," she said in a deadly whisper, "you've made your thoughts on the matter entirely clear."  He chose to ignore the coldness of her tone and gently brought her face round to his with his hand.  The unshed tears made her eyes glisten, reflecting the starlight above them.

"What about you," he replied.  "What are your thoughts on the matter?  Can you leave those ferals, Shal?  Can you leave them to die because you know that's what will happen if we don't help them?  I don't think you can.  I saw you in that pit today with them.  You aren't all that different from them, at the core you are all ferals and you know that, don't you?"  The slight nod of her head let him know that he was right.  "Well then talk to me, please," he pleaded, "what's scaring you so much.  You know your genes won't ever end up like that again so what is it that's stopping you, Shal?"

A lone tear slid down her cheek and he brushed it away gently with his thumb.  She drew a shuddering breath,

"I felt it inside me today.  When I saw them I felt it again.  I thought it was over, I thought I would never feel that again but I did.  There is still something of the old me inside somewhere and I'm terrified it's going to get out.  I want to help them, Brennan, I want to help them so much, I would never wish what I had to go through on anyone but I'm scared that if I do something will happen to me and I'll become like that again.  I know Adam said it wouldn't happen but I know myself and I know what I felt. It's still there and that knowledge is literally paralysing me."  His heart broke for her then; she looked so desperate and forlorn.  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him as another wave of sobs wracked her body.

"Come back with me?  We'll go and speak to Adam, see if he knows why you are feeling like this," he whispered and kissed the top of her head, "and tell him that you do want to help."  She nodded in agreement.  "Good," he took her hand and started to lead her back home.

"Brennan?"  She looked at him quizzically as he pulled on her hand, "Sanctuary is that way," she indicated behind her with her free hand.

"Of course it is," he replied quickly, "I knew that!"

"Remind me never to get lost with you," she quipped lightly as she pulled him down the right path, the joke briefly masking her apprehension at getting answers to questions she'd been dreading asking.

TBC…

A/N 2:  There will be a Blank Faces update soon as well; I've got an exam in a couple of days so most other things have been shoved unceremoniously to one side for this week.  Thanks to all my reviewers for both fics too!


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